Tuesday, September 26, 2006

I have read the book Advaita Vedanta by Eliot Deutsch many times. Here is a selection on "Freedom", from chapter eight titled Moksha and Jnana-Yoga.

The distinctive characteristic of most practical and theoretical concerns with freedom is the attempt to discover how one can be free from something: be it one's own passions and appetites, society, laws, or forces of physical nature. Freedom is generally conceived of that state of being or that opportunity which is on the other side of "necessity". Thomas Hobbes sums it up neatly when he writes that "liberty or freedom signifies properly the absence of opposition" [Ref: The Levithanian].

The Advaitic concept of freedom (moksha or mukti) likewise is cast initially in negative terms, as freedom from karma, from actions that bind one to the world, and from the ceaseless round of births and deaths in the world (samsara). But it also recognizes that when freedom is conceived of only in the negative sense of "freedom from," it is not something that human beings ultimately value; and that when taken to its fullest term, freedom is something from which they flee. [emphasis mine]

Whenever one is in a situation of strong constraint, one may indeed earnestly desire freedom from this constraint; one may even indeed become obsessed with the desire to the point when one is rendered impotent to act effectively within the situation; but once all constraints are removed, one finds oneself facing an abyss. One doesn't know what to do, one doesn't know what to make of one's freedom, and rather than face an infinite possibilty, one voluntarily seeks some other kind of constraint. We ceaselessly chain ourselves to things, to ideas and to dreams and illusions. From some inner compulsion, we turn away from the possibility of freedom. We imitate the servitude of others and convince ourselves that we are thereby fulfilling our social responsibility. "Freedom from" is denied by us. In human experience it turns out to be empty of substantial content [Ref. footnote].

This "Freedom from," however, does not denigrate the meaning of freedom: there is another kind of freedom that is a positive goal towards men may strive. The other kind of freedom does not merely lie on the other side of constraint; rather all oppositions between "freedom from" and "necessity" are overcome by it.

The Sanskrit word moksha (or mukti) connotes to the Advaitin "freedom from karma" and also the other kind of spiritual freedom. Moksha, in the positive sense, means the attaining to a state of "at-one-ment" with the depth and quiescence of Reality and with the power of its creative becoming the a Spiritual freedom means the full realization of the potentialities of man as a spiritual being, It means the attaining of insight of oneself; it means self-knowledge and joy of being.

footnote : This denigrating of "freedom from" is not meant, however to deny the validity of the very important distinction between choosing one's constraints and having them imposed upon them by others. The word "liberty" is perhaps more applicable here and is something that is indeed valuable. Because man is unable to endure "freedom from," in the fullest sense of the term, does not imply that he is then subject of whatever constraints may be imposed upon him. Self-chosen constraints are one thing, externally imposed constraints (or involuntary actions) are quite another thing.

Daily Inspiration Mailing List

If you are interested in getting short Vedantic messages as "daily inspiration", please let me know by leaving a comment on this blog, with your email address. (I will edit the comment removing the email address to save you from spam.) Here are the ones that I currently run.
Bhagavad Gita: The summum-bonum, the summary as well as encyclopedia of the entire Vedanta, recorded as a conversation between Lord Krishna and Arjuna, in 700 verses and 18 chapters. This selection is just a collection of 42 quotes from the book (see this post for all of them). A sample message is
2.16 naasato vidyate bhaavo naabhaavo vidyate sataH
Of the unreal there is no being; the real has no nonexistence. Ashtavakra Gita: A highly recommended Advaitic text, recorded as a conversation between the sage Ashtavakra and his disciple King Janaka. A sample message is:
The liberated person is not averse to the senses and nor is he attached to them. He enjoys himself continually with an unattached mind in both achievement and non-achievement. 17.17Adi Shankaracharya's prasna uttara ratna malika: A short work by Shri Adi Shankara, of 100+ verses, each containing a question and answer. The translation I follow is by Swami Prabhavananda. A sample message is:
60. What are the duties of a spiritual aspirant? To keep company with the holy, to renounce all thoughts of me and mine, to devote himself to God. Ramana Maharshi's verses on reality: This is a translation of a short work of forty verses by Ramana Maharshi. The translation I follow is by Shri Alan Jacob. A sample message is:
34. Disputing the nature of the Self without attempting Self-realization merely constitutes delusion.
Without trying to realize in the heart that reality which is the true nature of all, and without trying to abide in it, to engage in disputations as to whether the reality exists or not, or is real or not, denotes delusion born of ignorance.
sanskRita vyavahaara sahasrii: This is a mailing list for sending 6 random sentences selected from simple Sanskrit. The source I use is this (a PDF link). A sample message is:
bahu sundaraM asti kila etad.h ? It is very good, isn't it ?
dIpAvalI shubhAshayAH | Wish you a happy Deepavali.
eshhaH saN^ketaH kutra iti jAnAti vA ? | Could you possibly tell me where this address/place is ?
shvaH etad.h samyak.h paThitvA Agantavyam.h | Read this well when you come tomorrow.
adya tu virAmaH |Today is a holiday, anyway.
tasya ArogyaM kathaM asti ? How is his health ?
gItA anvaya sandhi vigraha : This is a purely Sanskrit mailing list, which send a random verse/verses from Bhagavad Gita, along with its anvaya and saMdhi vigraha. A sample message is:
yatra yogeshvaraH kR^iShNo yatra paartho dhanurdharaH .
tatra shriirvijayo bhuutirdhruvaa niitirmatirmama .. 18.78
yatra yogeshvaraH kR^iShNaH yatra paarthaH dhanurdharaH .
tatra shriiH vijayaH bhuutiH dhruvaa niitiH matiH mama .. 18.78
yatra yogeshvaraH kR^iShNaH yatra dhanurdharaH paarthaH\,
tatra shriiH\, vijayaH\, bhuutiH\, dhruvaa niitiH ##(##cha iti##)##
mama matiH ##(##asti##)## .
This has been made into a google groups http://groups.google.com/group/gita-anvaya-sandhi-vigrahaPostscript comment: Here are some links to subscribe yourself to the mailing lists:
http://groups.google.com/group/gita-nitya-sadhana-sutrahttp://groups.google.com/group/vishnu-sahasranama-mananahttp://groups.google.com/group/gita-anvaya-sandhi-vigrahahttp://groups.google.com/group/shankara-prashna-uttara-ratna-malika
The honor code for the mailing lists is the following: the mails would be read the day on which they were received!